Combined
with earlier anonymous gifts, the Goodwins' financial support
to Darden exceeds $25 million, making them the school's largest
donors and among the most generous contributors to the University.

As
chair of the school's trustees in the early 1990s, Goodwin urged
the school to abandon plans for a modest renovation of its old
building and launched planning and construction of the Darden
Grounds. His funding plan for the expansion was the first modern
example of a Virginia public university financing new facilities
entirely through private sources, allowing for greater design
creativity and efficiency without adding to the tax burden of
state residents. This approach has since been adopted by other
institutions across the commonwealth and will be repeated by Darden
when construction of Phase II begins this summer.